Companies that offer flexible working find it keeps their staff motivated, boosts productivity and improves retention. And allowing your employees to work non-traditional hours, fewer hours, a job share or from home, can help you attract exceptional talent that would otherwise be going to waste. "Most employees want to work flexibly and your business will benefit if you let them," says Emma Stewart. Here she shares key data from research into the rising demand for flexible working, how it c...

Having a tendency to mind wander may be a sign that you have a highly efficient brain. Although daydreaming is generally considered to be a productivity killer, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that people who daydream frequently scored higher on intellectual and creative ability and MRI scans showed they had more efficient brain systems. Higher brain efficiency means a greater capacity to think, so your brain may mind wander when performing easy tasks—and ...

A little bit of preparation can go a long way. Taking some time on Sunday to prepare for the week ahead not only makes Monday mornings much easier, it can make your entire week more productive. While most people think of Sunday evening as their last chance to relax before heading back to work in the morning, thinking of it as the first chance to prepare for the week puts you in a productive mindset already. So, instead of dreading an overwhelming Monday morning back at work you'll be ready ...

Workspace design can significantly impact creativity and productivity and for businesses that means creating office environments that blend open spaces for interaction and collaboration with quiet areas to allow workers to focus without constant distractions. If you work remotely, whether from home or elsewhere, your options for creating the optimal workspace may be limited. Even in a small space or on a tight budget however, there are some simple changes you can make. Here, Kunal Shandilya shar...

Being more productive helps you learn more and advance faster in your career or succesfully grow your business. Productivity isn't just about getting more stuff done however. It's about getting the right stuff done. "You might work for 50 hours a week, but if you don't experience any growth personally, emotionally, financially, you're not effective," writes entrepreneur, author, and podcaster Darius Foroux. In a recent blog post Foroux shares a simple exercise, adapted from Peter ...

With $3.91 million in seed investment, London-based startup StatusToday is looking to expand its multinational team and further improve its AI-powered employee insights platform. StatusToday aims to help companies understand their employees better, improve efficiency and reduce risk by using behavioral artificial intelligence to analyse employee data in real time. These AI-driven insights also add transparency for employees, says co-founder and CEO Ankur Modi. "In time we should be able to ...

As one of American television series Shark Tank's original judges and with three businesses to run, setting goals and achieving them is a key theme for author, entrepreneur, investor and father of three Daymond John. In Emily Canal's article, John reveals how he gets the most out of each day to achieve his goals, how he handles the tough decisions he has to make, and how he avoids burnout. He also shares some of the lessons he's learned from writing his latest book about us...

Constant decision-making throughout the day is mentally exhausting. Most of your daily decisions are relatively unimportant yet they all add up, and when decision fatigue sets in it's harder for you to deal with the bigger, more important decisions. As the day wears on your lack of energy and focus impacts the quality of your decision-making and this is when you start making poor choices and acting on impulse rather than thoughtful deliberation. To help you protect yourself from decision fatigue...

We all make excuses occasionally to put off what we should be doing in favour of doing something more pleasurable instead. Chronic procrastination however can lead to negative consequences such as poor performance, missed deadlines or lost opportunities. The key to overcoming this self-defeating behavior is to find out what your specific reasons are for procrastinating so you can tackle the underlying problem. Here, Leon Ho shares how to identify what type of procrastinator you are and eliminate...

Successful leaders know how to motivate their team through trust and personal development. And knowing how to delegate effectively not only maximises your own and your team's productivity, it helps individual employees develop their confidence and competence. Although being able to delegate is an essential leadership skill, the shift in focus from 'doing' to 'delegating' can be one of "the most difficult transitions for new leaders," says John Addison. To help you "inspire others to accomplish m...

There's nothing wrong with having goals, plans or lists; crossing completed items off your list gives you a sense of achievement and makes you feel good. When it's your number one priority however, productivity becomes a measure of self-worth and you may fee guilty or anxious whenever you have a day that doesn't feel productive. Here Matthew Hughes explores the difference between activity and productivity, how to resist the "always-on" mentality to achieve a healthy balance between work and down...

Effective teamwork leads to better decisions, higher levels of engagement and increased creativity, productivity and innovation. When differences between team members interfere with their ability to work together towards a common goal, the team becomes dysfunctional. And apart from ongoing conflict damaging the team's performance, the resulting negativity can also build to a toxic level that starts to affect your overall happiness and well being. Here, Melody Wilding shares some top ti...

While many people have one or more wearable devices for personal use, news that Amazon has patented an "ultrasonic bracelet" that can track a worker's every move is raising concerns about how closely employee activity is being digitally monitored in the workplace. Many companies have issued employees with health and fitness trackers so they can incorporate the data into their employee wellness programs. When it comes to boosting efficiency and productivity however, concerns have been raised abou...

Podcasts continue to grow in popularity and the increasing use voice-activated devices such as Google Home and Amazon Alexa is making them more accessible than ever. For many of us though the main attraction is being able to listen on the move and turn a long, boring commute into an opportunity for learning. And whether your interest is personal or professional, there's no shortage of podcasts for improving your understanding of human behaviour, emotions and attitudes. Here, Chris Weller shares ...

We all want to work as productively as possible yet there's no one-size-fits all approach to achieving optimal performance—and your favourite productivity hack might spell disaster for someone else. While the productivity business is booming with a plethora of apps, tools and techniques aimed at helping us to get more done, sometimes the simpler methods are best. And one simple method that's stood the test of time is the humble to-do list. Although a to-do list can be a powerful tool, "you can g...

Understanding the importance of simplicity is critical to your success. Despite the perception that complexity is synonymous with sophistication, in reality it's more likely to be synonymous with increased costs and a higher failure rate. Simplifying something doesn't make it any less important or impressive but it does improve efficiency, performance and productivity. "Simplicity is a great way to build something that works well without costing too much," writes Virgin Group founder R...

Technology is a double-edged sword. While the "work anywhere, anytime" culture allows for greater flexibility, the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life can also create conflict. The automation that frees you from tedious, repetitive tasks can lead to the fear of losing your job to a robot. And the use of wearable devices to monitor employee performance may be raising more questions about privacy than answers about productivity. While research continues exploring how to achieve t...

Getting your company culture right isn't easy. Every organization is different and needs to develop a culture that reflects the values, beliefs and attitudes that characterize the organization and guide its practices. Most leaders understand how culture influences everything from employee behavior and engagement to productivity and brand reputation, and is therefore crucial to the success of the business. Yet they often lack the necessary knowledge and skills to build a culture that's right for ...

It's hard to achieve your desired goals when they involve making significant changes in behaviour, and if you want to boost your productivity you need to change the behaviors that are holding you back. Although there's no single strategy that works for everyone, there are some very effective tools and techniques that can help you identify your priorities, improve your focus and maintain your productivity. From making Parkinson's Law work to your advantage, to using Francesco Cirillo's Pomodoro t...

The key to success is being able to adapt to change and by capitalizing on the values, principles and practices of an agile approach, organizations can create a culture that accelerates profitable growth. Originally adopted in software development to help teams respond quickly to changing requirements, shifting priorities and constantly evolving business needs, agile is increasingly spreading across a broad range of industries and business functions. Here Adrian Bridgwater explores a variet...

The start of the New Year is a good time to reflect on what you've accomplished during the previous year and to make a fresh start, whether in your career, relationships or health and well being. Starting something new helps you wake up each morning feeling highly motivated and looking forward to a productive day. If you're finding it difficult to get motivated after the end of the festive season, these five top tips from psychologist Dr. Ellen Hendriksen will help you take action and keep movin...

Before turning your passion into a business, you need find out as much as you can about the industry. And you need to learn all about how to start, run and grow a business. If what you're passionate about is starting, running and growing a business, that's perfect. Otherwise, you may start to lose track of why you started in the first place, as the passion for doing what you love gets lost amongst everything else you have to do. Here, Leon Ho shares his top tips for turning the si...

While being an entrepreneur can be very rewarding, it can also be extremely challenging and there's no doubt that getting a new startup off the ground can be particularly stressful. Having to juggle multiple roles, learn new skills, overcome setbacks and deal with the day-to-day demands of running a business all take their toll. To help you take these and other entrepreneurial challenges in your stride, Gerri Detweiler shares here some of the best TED talks for boosting your confidence, managing...

Many of us make New Year's resolutions with the intention of bettering ourselves in the coming year, yet between 80 and 92 per cent of resolutions are destined to fail. You have to put considerable effort into developing new habits and—with January being one of the worst times of year to start something new—instead of making a resolutions list this year, you might want to consider making an anti-resolution list instead. To help you get started, Stephanie Vozza shares here nine ideas fr...

Learning and development is an important aspect of talent management and your overall business strategy. Done well, it boosts employee motivation and job satisfaction and helps the company attract and retain top talent. Individuals benefit by improving their knowledge, skills and competencies, while the company benefits from better performance, increased productivity and low staff turnover. It can be difficult to evaluate the effectiveness and justify the expense of training programs however and...

The world around you has evolved much quicker than your brain has. Life's no longer about constantly having to avoid being eaten by predators or other immediate threats to your survival. Yet even in the absence of any real danger, your nervous system still triggers the acute stress response—commonly known as the fight-or-flight response—when you have a presentation, job interview, exam, or uncomfortable social situation to contend with. Being constantly fearful, worried and stressed diminishes y...

Mobile technology has made our work and day-to-day lives easier in many ways. Having 24/7 access to the internet not only puts a wealth of information and resources at our fingertips, it helps us run online businesses, stay connected with remote teams, and expand our networks through social media. Nevertheless, while being able to constantly check and send emails might feel productive, being too attached to your smartphone diverts your focus, detracts from your performance and derails your progr...

There's a fine line between being a hands-on manager and being a micromanager. Although you may occasionally need to pay close attention to details and make sure work is getting done, most of the time intense scrutiny is unwarranted and can harm your team's performance. Constantly monitoring your team's progress in minute detail is disempowering and demoralizing and ultimately damages the team's performance and productivity. A healthy level of interaction and support can soon turn into an unheal...

Distractions at work aren't only inevitable; they're often welcome when you need to take your mind off work for a few minutes. Those few minutes can soon add up to lost hours however. Even minor disruptions can impact your productivity, with studies showing it takes an average of 25 minutes to fully regain your focus after an interruption. And the effect this has on the quality and quantity of the work you produce can become both stressful for you and costly for the business. "Producti...

Procrastination is a trap we all fall into sometimes. It's natural to want to delay an unpleasant though necessary task in favor of doing something more enjoyable. Chronic procrastination however is a self-sabotaging behavior that reduces productivity. It can also lead to feelings of guilt, inadequacy, depression, and self-doubt, which then create a vicious cycle of further procrastination, additional stress and increased anxiety. The key to breaking this cycle is to create a more...